This practical, user-friendly insider's guide contains everything you need to install and learn OpenOffice.org today! With the OpenOffice.org Companion, you get the best-selling StarOffice"! Companion, adapted and updated for OpenOffice.org, plus the official OpenOffice.org CD, which includes software for all platforms and great extras!

Imagine an office productivity suite that's powerful, easy to use, has great extras (like a drawing program and database connectivity), and is absolutely free! The OpenOffice.org Open Source Project's partnership with Sun Microsystems makes this a reality for millions of Linux®, Solaris®, and Windows® users.

Learn OpenOffice.org for the first time, or explore the great new features in this release. OpenOffice.org Companion also incorporates solutions to questions from hundreds of OpenOffice.org users, both beginners and pros, making this the most practical, task-based book available. It delivers clear, step-by-step instructions on what you need to do to get your job done.

You'll find comprehensive coverage of all this and more:

Great information across applications:

Conversion to and from Microsoft® and StarOffice 5.2 file formats

Installation and setup tips:

How to install for either single users or network installations, for all platforms, with detailed instructions and key trouble-shooting tips Migration tips for StarOffice 5.2 users

Power-user tips, including:

How to print spreadsheet headings on multiple pages, modify XML to edit the files or customize OpenOffice.org, and importing text files into spreadsheets

Quick Start tutorials:

Learn the key features of each application, plus procedures on customizing OpenOffice.org to make using it simple and productive

Comprehensive coverage of each application:

WriterEditing, formatting, mail merge, printing to postscript and PDF, long documents, version control, and comparing documents

CalcFormatting, data entry and calculations in spreadsheets (including the function AutoPilot), scenarios, Goal Seek, exporting to HTML, and inserting spreadsheets in other documents

ImpressCreating, designing, and delivering presentations, including custom presentations and animation

Drawing and image-editing featuresUsing the vast array of drawing tools including 3D, connector lines for technical diagrams, editing raster graphics like photos, and exporting to formats like GIF, EPS, and SVG

Connecting to data sourcesSetting up data-source connections to spreadsheets, Access, Oracle® and other databases via JDBC and other standard access methods. Plus creating mail merges documents and labels with the user-friendly AutoPilot

Want to learn how to get things done with OpenOffice.org? OpenOffice.org Companion is the practical, direct, expert guide you've been searching for, with all the software you need.

Setting Up OpenOffice.org. Getting Help. Setting Up and Managing the Menus and Interface. Setting Up Font Substitution. Enabling and Setting Up Asian Fonts and Formatting. Specifying Zoom and Measurement Unit. Using and Setting Up Graphics and Colors. Controlling Text Changes and AutoCompletion. Turning Off Annoying Features. Working With Directories. Setting Up and Using Internet Features. Setting Undos and Number of Recent Documents You Can Open. Fun With XML. Setting Up Security. Preventing OpenOffice.org From Opening MS Office and HTML Files. Setting Up and Viewing Document Characteristics. Converting to and From Other Applications. Printing Setup and Printing. OpenOffice.org Templates.

Overview. Managing and Moving Around in Files Using Navigator. Outline Numbering, for Chapter, Figure, and Cross-Reference Numbering. Headers and Footers in Books. Page Numbering. Creating Books (Master Documents). Cross-Referencing. Creating a Table of Contents. Creating an Index. Creating Lists of Figures and Other Lists. Bibliographies. Spacing Before a Section, Index, or Table.

10. Mail Merges, Business Cards, and More.

Getting Started With Mail Merges, Business Cards, and More. Setting Up Data to Use in Mail Merge Documents and Business Cards. Creating Mail Merge Letters and Faxes With Data Sources Using AutoPilots. Creating Your Own Mail Merge Documents. Envelopes. Creating Business Cards and Labels Using Fixed Data. Printing.

11. Creating and Controlling Different Document Versions.

The Two Ways of Controlling Versions of Documents. Document Version Control With Editing and Version Tools. Using Sections to Create Multiple Versions of the Same Document. Using the Automated Editing Tools. Using Notes. Top Ten Reasons to Use.

Quick Start. Calc Setup Options. Keyboard Shortcuts. Creating a New Document. Opening Another Document in Calc. Simple Procedures for Bringing Data Sources Into Spreadsheets. Exporting Calc Spreadsheets to Other Formats. Using Navigator to Move Within and Between Documents. Searching and Replacing.

Printing a Spreadsheet. Things That Control Spreadsheet Printing. Printing a Mail Merge From Data in a Spreadsheet. Choosing What Sheets to Print. Repeating Spreadsheet Headings (Rows or Columns) on Each Page. Setting a Print Range. Selecting Spreadsheet Elements to Print. Page Size and Numbering. Keeping Specific Cells From Printing. Reducing or Increasing the Number of Pages the Spreadsheet Prints On. Printing to PostScript and PDF. Printer and Font Setup.

Adding Movement, Sound, and Special Effects to Objects and Text in Slides. Making Objects or Text Move Along a Path. Making Effects Run on Two or More Objects Simultaneously. How Effects Are Applied to Text. Interaction Effects: Run Macros and More. Animated GIFs. Applying Slide Transition Effects. Creating Custom Presentations. Harmless Pranks.

Quick Start. Creating and Opening Draw Files. Page Setup. Templates and Styles. Graphics and Color Setup. Setting Up and Using Existing Shapes in Drawings. Creating and Formatting Basic Objects. Creating and Formatting Lines. Working With Text. Positioning and Resizing Objects. Rotating and Flipping Objects. Setting Drawing Scale and Unit of Measurement. Exporting Drawings to Other Formats.

30. Advanced Drawing Tools.

About Draw's Advanced Features. Creating Your Own Lines and Arrows. Creating and Categorizing Fills and Lines. Creating Technical Drawings With Dimension Lines and Connector. Working With Bezier Curves. Modifying and Creating Colors. Creating and Modifying Gradients, Hatches, and Bitmaps. Creating Three-Dimensional Objects. Adding Other Files or Objects to Drawings. Making Exact and Modified Copies. Distorting and Curving Text and Objects With the Effects Tools. Distorting and Curving Text Using FontWork. Converting Text to 3D and Applying Formatting. Morphing One Object Into Another Using Cross-Fading. Converting Objects to Different Types. Combining Shapes and Creating Lines From Objects.

OpenOffice.org and Databases. The Databases You Can Connect To. All the Ways You Can Create Stored Data and Bring It Into Documents.

34. Setting Up Stored Data in Fields and AutoText.

Creating and Using Fields Creating and Inserting AutoText.

35. Creating and Modifying Data Sources.

What to Do in This Chapter. Understanding Data Sources and Completing a Tutorial. Preparing to Create Data Sources. Creating Data Sources. Creating and Modifying Tables. Bringing New Data Into a New or Existing Table. Creating Queries. Sorting and Filtering Information in the Data Source Viewer. Exporting Data Sources to Another Format. Editing Data in Data Sources Using the Data Source Viewer.

36. Creating and Using Forms, Controls, and Events.

Getting Started With Forms. Creating a Form Using AutoPilot. Basics for Creating a Form on Your Own. Form Modification Basics. Adding and Replacing Controls. Using Forms to View Data. Using Forms for Data Entry.

Preface

Preface

It used to be that the saying "You get what you pay for" ranked up there with suchindisputable truths as, "What goes up must come down," "Water is wet," and "I had torestart Windows today." But since OpenOffice.org is free, "you get what you pay for" isnot only disputable, but down there with "the board of directors said the accountingpractices were OK" and "hey, let's form an Internet startup."

OpenOffice.org, the open source product of Sun Microsystems' StarOffice, is a full-featured,remarkably good office suite. It matches Microsoft Office program for program,and goes a giant step further with a great graphics program, Draw. You get applications forworking with documents, spreadsheets, slide presentations, web sites, graphics, anddatabases--anywhere from Oracle to a simple text file.

Want to do a holiday newsletter as a mail merge, printing out a copy for each of the 135people on your address list? It's really easy. Put together a book? You've got all the toolsyou need. Do complex statistical or mathematical calculations in a spreadsheet? Ditto.Create a Web site start-to-finish (along with graphics, animations, and image maps). Openyour old WordStar files from college and your Lotus 1-2-3 files from your first job. Scrapeyour jaw on the ground when you see how small the file sizes are.

This release of OpenOffice.org also has a bunch of enhancements over StarOffice 5.2.We're satisfied and impressed that the developers incorporated lots of good feedback.

What goes up must come down. Water is wet. OpenOffice.org is free.

(And yes, I really did have to restart Windows today.)

The CD You Get With This Book

This is the only StarOffice or OpenOffice.org book you can currently get that has the CDalong with it. You get the software for every platform, plus a bunch of extras that theOpenOffice.org community has put together--templates, macros, examples, etc.

Plus you get the Mac OS X Developer version, an alpha build of the software that runs onthe love child of Steve Jobs and a UNIX kernel, the built-with-UNIX Mac operatingsystem.

For additional extras like templates, created by the authors, come to the authors' web sitehttp://www.getopenoffice.org

Microsoft Office Compatibility

OpenOffice.org is particularly strong in its ability to open Microsoft Office file formatsand save the documents back as Microsoft Office files. It even boasts an AutoPilot thatconverts directories of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files to OpenOffice.org formats.

What It Runs On

OpenOffice.org runs on Windows, Linux, Lindows, and Solaris. The OpenOffice.orggroup is working on versions for Mac OSX, FreeBSD, and other platforms.

About This Book

This is a book that lets you find what you need quickly and get it done. This isn't a bookfor "dummies", with epic-length procedures for cutting and pasting. On the other hand, wedon't include extensive details on those sexy technical issues like mime types and LDAPWe wrote the book that we would want: all the important stuff, but nothing too basic ortechnically impractical for the intermediate user (and with a little humor along the way).We also talked to hundreds of new StarOffice and OpenOffice.org users, so we were ableto document what people really need to do.

Reading Is Fundamental

If you're like most intermediate users, you already know enough to be dangerous, whichmeans you'll probably just dive in and try to do things in OpenOffice.org without anyhelp. Sometimes that strategy works, other times it doesn't. If it doesn't, read the relevantsections in this book.

For instance, one of the most frequently asked questions is "How do I print spreadsheetheadings on every page?" The answer has been in this book all along. Go read RepeatingSpreadsheet Headings (Rows or Columns) on Each Page on page 626.

We also indexed the living daylights out of this book, so use the Index, too.

What Now?

You can get more info on OpenOffice.org in Chapter 1, Introduction to OpenOffice.org1.0, on page 3.

Go through Chapter 5, Setup and Tips, on page 95. It gives you an overview of the workenvironment and shows you lots of really useful tips that affect the whole program.

Use the Quick Start tutorials. We've included something for those of you who like toplunge in quickly and get your hands dirty.